Democracy and Deep-Rooted Conflict: Options for Negotiators

The nature of violent conflict in the world has changed in recent decades, both in its actual subject-matter and in the form of its expression. One of the most dramatic changes has been the trend away from traditional inter-state conflict (that is, a war between sovereign states) and towards intra-state conflict (that is, one which takes place between factions within an existing state). Whereas most violent conflicts over the course of the twentieth century have been between states, in the 1990s almost all major conflicts around the world have taken place within states. Between 1989 and 1996, for example, 95 of the 101 armed conflicts identified around the world were such internal disputes. Most of these conflicts were propelled, at least in part, by quests for self-determination or adequate recognition of communal identity rather than by ideology or the conquest of territory. This represents a major shift in the manifestation of human conflict, especially compared to the world wars and major inter-state conflicts fought over the course of this century